CRASH—CRASH— the ceiling collapsed right before my eyes. Everything around me was chaos. Smoke and fire filled the air along with a pungent metallic stench, and dark red streaks of blood were scattered across the floor.
It feels so real… Where am I?
I looked down at my hands—they were covered in blood. But I didn't feel any pain. So… this isn't my blood? What the hell is going on?
From the thick, swirling smoke ahead, a hoarse, broken voice echoed out:
"This time… it's… not… it? I could… sense it… here…"
I squinted toward the sound. Through the dense haze, a very tall figure gradually emerged, almost human—except for its arms. They were unnaturally long, grotesque. Both hand it holding something round, like balls.
While i was still trying to figure out what they were when the smoke cleared a bit more. And then I saw it more clearly.
"…What the hell is that?" I blurted.
The thing before me wasn't human. It wasn't anything I'd ever seen. Its form flickered like a TV screen full of static, distorted lines overlapping—but somehow, they forced themselves into a humanoid shape, with arms that hung down to its legs.
And then I saw what it was holding.
My throat tightened—two human heads. Blood dripped steadily from them, drop by drop.
"…No."
"No, no, no—" I screamed, charging at it without thinking.
"You bastard!!"
"What did you do to them!!??"
Those two heads… were my parents.
At that moment, it turned toward me. From its unrecognizable face, a crooked mouth opened. A smile—a crescent-moon grin.
"Found… you… at last."
"A Fragment."
It lunged at me at a speed my eyes couldn't track.
"Ahhh!!!" —
I jolted awake. My breathing was ragged, my heart pounding wildly. I looked down at my palms—nothing was there—then raised my head to see the person standing beside me.
"Mr. Claudius, it seems you just had a rather terrible nightmare, but do you know what is even more horrifying than the nightmare you just had? That would be the special lecture I have prepared for you after class. But you are lucky because it is tomorrow, not today."
The whole classroom burst into laughter
"Damn it, not again" I whispered.
"Excuse me? What did you just say?" the person asked, looking puzzled.
"I said I understand, professor Clayment" I replied.
"Very well. Now I think you should go wash your face and wake yourself up a little" Professor Clayment said.
"I understand" I said as I stood up and left.
I went into the restroom, splashed cold water on my face, and stared at the reflection in the mirror.
"Those damn nightmares…"
After all these years, I still dreamt of them. Logically, I can't even clearly remember my parents' faces anymore— they died in a car accident when I was ten, or at least that's what I was told by relatives and everyone around me.
Right now, I live with my cousin. He's often away on business and rarely home, so if I'm being honest, it's pretty much the same as living on my own.
But this time—it felt so real, far more real than any previous nightmare.
Could it be, like some scientific books say—that dreams sometimes are memories? So… could I have forgotten something?
"…If they're memories, at least they should make sense."
I wiped my face and mocked myself. "Monsters don't exist in real life—that's absurd. Unless… maybe my math homework counts as a monster. In that case, I was definitely traumatized."
Back in the classroom—the lecture by Professor Clayment continued as boring as ever, but I stayed awake, not because I feared being caught again, not because I was embarrassed—let me emphasize again, not for those reasons—but because I was busy thinking about the nightmare.
When the bell signaling the end of class rang, I almost breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the two hours of dull history class were over, I told myself.
Out of habit, I checked my notebook and pens in my backpack to make sure I hadn't left anything behind. Then I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left the class.
"Even though you are an excellent student, I hope you will take my class more seriously, Mr. Claudius" Professor Clayment said as I approached the door.
"I understand" I replied with a slight bow.
On my way to the gate, lost in thought about the nightmare and wondering whether I should buy some donuts for the road, a whisper came beside my ear:
"Disaster… waits for no one, Dion."
I flinched slightly, then realized it could only be one person and smiled faintly.
"If that's the case, then all we have to do is deal with the source of the disaster" I replied.
"Then… melting ice at the poles from global warming or war—would you deal with humans since they caused the problem" she responded.
"If that's the case… then you would become a mass murderer" she continued.
"And then… you'd have to deal with the one who caused the mass killing—that would be yourself" she whispered.
"Haa… seriously" I sighed helplessly. I think should probably start a diary just for my self-loathing thoughts.
Ah, right. The girl who always talks about creepy stuff—apocalypse, disasters, pandemics, demons, slaughter… That's Hinilia Hyvatia. I never understood how someone could believe in both science and the supernatural. But since we've known each other since childhood, I got used to her way of thinking. Thanks to her and her family, I survived a lot, especially after my parents passed away, I owed them more than I could ever say. I was truly grateful.
And me? Well, as she just called me… I'm Dion—Dion Claudius, a 19-year-old ordinary boy with a vague dream of the future. Right now, both of us study at Minavas University in the city of Liorenne, nation of Verdantia—a land of greenery.
Even though I had excellent high school grades and could have enrolled in better schools, I still chose to study at Minav…
"Hey"
A voice cut through my self-indulgent thoughts. "You spacing out again or did some girl steal your mind?" She asked, tilting her head slightly, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
"No… nothing, I was just thinking about donuts… I'm hungry" I lied.
"Here…" Hinilia said, taking a chocolate pastry from her jacket pocket and offering it to me. "If you're hungry, eat it."
"Thanks, then I'll take it" I said, biting into it.
"What were you thinking about just now? You looked serious" she asked.
"How to sleep in history class again without getting caught by Professor Clayment" I replied seriously like a detective solving a case.
"Haizzz… at this rate, you will fail his class" Hinilia said.
"I mean, learning history hundreds of times from elementary school until now is too much. Humanity should keep looking toward the future, not constantly turning back to stare at the past" I replied with a sense of boredom.
"But at least take it seriously that he doesn't hate you and fail you" she reminded me.
While talking, we reached a fork in the road. Today I had to work part-time at the convenience store to cover living expenses, so I turned onto a different path. After saying goodbye to Hinilia, I continued alone.
"Help…"
A very faint voice echoed.
Huh? What was that? I wondered. Did I just hear something? Probably just an illusion. Or maybe my brain is trying to prank me. Classic Dion.
"Ah… help me…"
Alright. This time, it was definitely not an illusion.
The cry came from the alley behind the store where I worked. This area was known for local punks hanging around. Could they really be hurting someone this time?
My instinct told me not to get involved, since 99.99% of so-called straw heroes like me always run into trouble—and the remaining 0.01% actually run all the time. But this was behind the store. Maybe the owner heard and would call the police. I decided just to stand nearby and observe. And also mentally prepared my posthumous apology letter—despite not even knowing who I'd send it to.
I slowed my steps and peeked into the alley.
"What the hell…" I thought.
There were no punks.
What I saw was… a giant frog, almost the size of a lion. Its skin was smooth, slimy, with bizarre swirling patterns pulsing in time with its breathing, and its mouth chewing the upper half of a human body. The victim's legs dangled lifelessly.
At that moment, my mind went blank. Not because I was afraid—but because my brain refused to process what was happening. "A monster." Yep, my brain officially resigned.
I calmed down, took a deep breath, and scanned the surroundings.
Filming? The thought flashed in my mind. I glanced around—no camera, no lights, no one hiding anywhere, right?
So… it was real?
My heart pounded. My mind raced. What should I do now? Call someone? Run to report it? But my eyes accidentally stopped at the victim—the body barely moved. Probably… too late. And yes, Dion, you are thinking entirely too much right now.
But then
"Help me…"
A weak, trembling voice rang out.
What…? That voice?
The victim… was still alive?
My thoughts froze for a split second. If they were still alive, then I couldn't just stand here and do nothing. I didn't know what was happening, didn't know what that thing really was—but if there was even a chance to save someone, I had to try.
Then I saw an umbrella leaning against the wall nearby.
A crazy idea popped up. I knew it was absurd. I knew an umbrella couldn't deal with that thing. But if it was a monster, like in my dream, then… could everything I dreamed about… be real? Could I do anything to it? Nope, probably not, but what the hell.
I stepped forward and reached for the umbrella—
BOP! My back slammed against the wall. One hand gripped my wrist, the other covered my mouth.
"Shh. Are you out of your mind? You could get yourself killed." A whispered voice spoke urgently beside my ear. "That Chaos Monster will eat you…"
I panicked and tried to struggle but then recognized the voice.
Hinilia…?
I turned my head. It was her. But not the Hinilia I had just parted with about ten minutes ago. She wasn't in casual clothes, but a strange, neat, cold uniform. On her chest was a symbol ∞— two connected circles, the mark of infinity.